Litter collecting on the banks of the Yarra River under the Westgate Bridge was more random, less systematic, than in previous years. I went down there when I could and set the timer for thirty minutes. Polystryrene was overwhelmingly the most abundantly found item. It’s between every rock and hard place in individual balls, clusters […]
Main Content
Street stories
Boundary Street
Road portrait: Boundary Street Boundary Street separated the cities of Port and South Melbourne when that boundary meant something. Boundary St is yet another straight and purposeful street heading from Crockford St towards Lorimer Street and the Yarra River. Its former connection with the River is now interrupted by the many lanes of the Westgate […]
Making change
A Story of Dedication
23 March 2017 A group of supporters gathered here to mark the completion of 365 continuous days of litter surveys on this 35m of beach in Port Melbourne. Ross and Ramona Headifen counted every single piece of litter a naked eye could see. The results: 125,520 pieces of litter – all plastic. 75% of them were in […]
Urban Nature
Habitat Filters
As public transport becomes more crowded and with the attachment to devices, conversations on the tram have become rarer but the no 1 is often convivial. As the tram trundled down Sturt St towards South Melbourne past Habitat Filter, the woman sitting next to me observed “I don’t like it”. “It’s ugly”, her friend agreed. […]
Urban Planning
Politics in the Pub
Do you use Trove? Trove makes it as easy to read the newspapers of yesteryear as to read the newspapers of today. And there’s no paywall either. Through Trove we have easy access and insights into detailed accounts of Council and community meetings – who was there, what was said, and what issues were raised. Reading […]
Port of Melbourne
Shipping News
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Special Climate Statement 65 confirms the uneasy feeling that April has been unusually warm. The Bureau found that the heat was more characteristic of mid-summer than mid-autumn and “was unprecedented in many areas in April for its intensity, its persistence or both”. Victoria had its hottest area averaged April day on […]
PORT MELBOURNE
Birds
The morning begins with the wattlebird in the banksia. The golden autumn day invites a walk to Lagoon Pier is at the end of the street (apart from the interruption of Beaconsfield Parade). Lagoon Pier may not be the longest or the widest pier but it is a ‘just right’ pier for Port Melbourne with […]
FISHERMANS BEND & MONTAGUE
The First Quarter
Easter Explorations in Fishermans Bend 2018 The next wave of development is beginning with several sites in, and on the edge of, Fishermans Bend being prepared for construction. In Montague The new South Melbourne-Ferrars St Primary School is in recess after an exuberant first full term in operation. Construction of the 8,000 square metre park […]
Docklands
Banksia at NewQuay
In 1995, Michael and Andrew Buxton created MAB Corporation and kickstarted waterfront development in Port Melbourne when they created the Anchorage from the former Swallow and Ariell biscuit factory. Two years later MAB entered into a development agreement with the then Docklands Authority for the precinct now known as NewQuay, Docklands. Twenty years later . […]